1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a peeler mechanism for peeling printed labels from a web, and relates more particularly to a printer having a peeler mechanism for dispensing printed labels. More particularly, the present invention is a printer having a peeler mechanism composed of an opening/closing cover that can be opened and closed to load roll paper having label paper wound in a roll into a roll paper compartment, and a peeler unit that can be opened and closed to open and close the web discharge path of the peeler mechanism, and relates specifically to an opening/closing mechanism for locking the opening/closing cover and peeler unit in a closed position to the printer and releasing the opening/closing cover and peeler unit from this closed and locked position.
2. Description of Related Art
Some printers that print to roll paper delivered from paper wound in a roll have a paper feed roller for conveying the roll paper assembled to an opening/closing cover that opens and closes the roll paper compartment so that when the opening/closing cover is closed the roll paper can be conveyed from the roll paper compartment by the paper feed roller. Opening the opening/closing cover of this printer opens the roll paper compartment and also raises the paper feed roller assembled to the opening/closing cover, thus providing wide, open access to the roll paper transportation path. By thus opening the roll paper transportation path, roll paper can be easily loaded into the printer for printing by placing the roll paper into the roll paper compartment, pulling a specific length of paper off the roll, and then simply closing the opening/closing cover.
To prevent the opening/closing cover from being accidentally opened by the operator, a lock mechanism locks the opening/closing cover in the position closed to the printer. This lock mechanism has an engagement portion disposed to the opening/closing cover, and a lock lever disposed to the printer. The lock lever can swing in the front-back direction of the printer, and a spring or other urging member causes the lock lever to engage the engagement portion of the closed opening/closing cover from the front or back side, thereby locking the opening/closing cover in the closed position.
Thermal printers, that is, printers having a thermal print head, print by holding the thermal head against a thermal paper to expose the paper to heat produced by the thermal head. When the opening/closing cover is closed, the platen roller (paper feed roller) attached to the cover and the thermal head on the printer side are urged together. The roll paper is thus held between the platen roller and the thermal head for printing. Opening the opening/closing cover thus requires releasing the lock mechanism of the opening/closing cover and lifting the cover up and opening against this urging force.
If the lock mechanism of the opening/closing cover is separate from the mechanism for raising and opening the opening/closing cover, opening the cover requires releasing the lock mechanism from the locked position and then a separate operation for lifting and opening the opening/closing cover by the opening mechanism. The opening/closing cover thus cannot be opened by a single operation, and operation is tedious and inconvenient. Opening the opening/closing cover is simplified, however, by linking operation of the lock mechanism to the cover opening mechanism so that the opening mechanism automatically raises and opens the cover when the lock mechanism is released. However, if these mechanisms are thus linked and the lock mechanism is accidentally released by impact or vibration, the opening/closing cover will undesirably open. This is particularly a problem if the cover thus opens during printing because printing cannot proceed.
To solve this problem, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application 2005-96290 we previously disclosed a locking and unlocking mechanism for an opening/closing cover. This locking and unlocking mechanism can open and close an opening/closing cover with a single action, and can hold the opening/closing cover in the closed position without being affected by external factors such as impact and vibration.
Printers that print on roll paper can also be used to print labels by using roll label paper. Such label paper has labels of a specific length adhesively attached to a web which is wound into a roll. Such label printers may also have a peeler mechanism for peeling the printed labels from the web disposed near the label discharge opening. So that paper jams can be easily corrected and the label paper can be easily loaded to the label transportation path, this peeler mechanism preferably has an openable peeler unit rendered so that opening the peeler unit also opens the web transportation path.
When an openable/closable peeler unit is thus disposed to the peeler mechanism and an opening/closing cover that opens and closes the roll paper compartment is also provided, a lock mechanism and an unlocking mechanism must be provided for both the peeler unit and this opening/closing cover, and separate operations are required to open and close the peeler unit and the opening/closing cover. Furthermore, printer size and cost increase undesirably because these mechanism are not compact. Yet further, if the opening and closing operations are not simple, printer operability also decreases undesirably.
To solve the foregoing problems, the present invention compactly renders a locking and unlocking mechanism for the peeler unit and opening/closing cover, and enables opening both the peeler unit and opening/closing cover by a simple operation. The invention also affords a printer with a peeler mechanism having an opening/closing mechanism that can hold the opening/closing cover in the closed position without being affected by external factors such as shock and vibration.